DA implements 5 “musts” for profitable and competitive farming
The Arroyo administration has put a premium on five imperatives, which include continuous infrastructure investments, to make farming more profitable and globally competitive while at the same time strengthening the resiliency of Philippine agriculture and fisheries amid the serious threats posed by climate change and increasing global trade liberalization.
Secretary Bernie Fondevilla of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said these measures likewise aim to make the farm and fisheries sector more profitable for small farmers plus fisherfolk and agribusiness entrepreneurs alike so the government could not only raise rural incomes but drive investments on the supply side as well.
Identified as the five imperatives for a profitable and competitive farming are:
- continuous investments in infrastructure as well as in equipment that heighten productivity;
- implementation of a postharvest program that provides dryers chillers and ports to minimize post-production losses for farmers and fisherfolk;
- strengthening of guarantee funds to extend loans and insurance for food production to farmers and fishers;
- assistance for the dissemination and availability of information and training for new and sustainable technologies and practices; and
-institution of policy reforms to promote sustainable agriculture are the measures carried out by the DA to keep Philippine agriculture resilient.
At current prices, Philippine agriculture grossed P1.2 trillion in 2009, representing a 2.18% increase from the 2008 level, Fondevilla said.
“The primary aim of government policies and programs in the agriculture sector is to make farm and fisheries producers profitable and competitive,” Fondevilla said before economists and members of the business community during the Yearend Philippine Economic Briefing held recently at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City.
Fondevilla noted that the challenges constantly facing Philippine agriculture come from the biophysical environment, which has been exacerbated by climate change; and the economic environment, as shown by recent food and input price spikes in the face of the headlong march by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to further trade liberalization.
The new DA secretary pointed out that despite the challenges facing Philippine agriculture, the increasingly pronounced rebound of the world economy from the most recent financial crisis presents opportunities for the sector in terms of investments and international and domestic demand growth.
Other investment prospects in the country’s farm and fisheries sector include poultry and livestock production where the Philippines enjoys a distinct advantage because of its avian-flu free status and its reputation as relatively free of the foot-and-mouth disease.
In Negros Occidental, poultry raisers gather to formulate a resolution on El Niño Phenomenon mitigating measures on poultry and livestock during their first general assembly recently.
Investors can also explore the area of seed production, Fondevilla noted. Beidahuang China, for instance, has signed an agreement to invest in seed production in the country. (DA/PIA/EAD)
